


It's All in a Moment

by venus_demilo



Category: ATEEZ (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Asthma, Best friend goals, Did I mention this is very fluffy, Fluff, Gen, I'm back, M/M, Past Abuse, So are Yeosang and Taehyun, Super Rookies 2k19, Very fluffy, Wooyoung and Yeonjun are best friends, figuring out feelings, it's not at all graphic just a through away mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:42:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23314831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venus_demilo/pseuds/venus_demilo
Summary: Wooyoung and Yeonjun go way back. Have things changed since Wooyoung left Bighit and joined Ateez? Definitely. However, change is never as scary as it seems, and most things change for the better.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun/Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho/Kang Yeosang/Song Mingi, Past Kang Taehyun/Kang Yeosang
Comments: 12
Kudos: 132





	It's All in a Moment

Wooyoung is practically bouncing down the hallway. Yeosang is only a few paces behind him, and he’s fidgeting with excitement. The rest of the group is following more sedately, whispering amongst themselves.

They round a corner and Wooyoung gasps.

“It looks the same, Sangie!”

Yeosang scoffs, although when Wooyoung looks at him, his eyes are soft.

“What, was it supposed to change?”

Wooyoung just grins and takes off down the hallway.

This building is familar to him in a forgotten way, like a relatives house he remembers from childhood.

“Woo!”

He screeches to a stop at Hongjoong’s yell.

“Yeah, hyung?”

Hongjoong looks exasperated, but he’s smiling softly.

“I know you’re excited, but we’re about to dance for five hours. Take it a bit slower, okay?” Wooyoung nods, bouncing on the balls of his feet and hoping his expression isn’t too happy.

“I wanted to talk with the whole group as well, just so we know where we stand,” Hongjoong continues. “We’re guests here, so no breaking things. Our managers are taking care of food and such. These practices aren’t being filmed officially, but they’re open to vlives, so make sure you’re never indecent.” Hongjoong pauses. “Also, these are Wooyoung and Yeosang’s friends, so lets try to make a good impression?”

Someone giggles in the back. Hongjoong just rolls his eyes. “Okay, Wooyoung, lead on.”

Wooyoung manages to keep his walking speed somewhat normal. He and Yeosang fall into pace together naturally, the muscle memory of days of training moving them through the hallways.

“Do you think it’ll be weird?” Yeosang asks quietly. Wooyoung jumps, suprised at the question.

“I don’t think so,” Wooyoung says after a beat. “Why would it be? It’s just Yeonjunnie and the rest.”

Yeosang nods absently. “Yeah, but it’s ‘the rest’ that I’m worried about. We have our ‘rest’ too, you know.”

Wooyoung almost stops in the middle of the hallway. “Oh.”

“Yeah. I mean, we’re all competitors now, right? Technically?” Yeosang swallows. “I don’t want it to be different.”

Wooyoung can only nod. The sudden nerves are making his palms sweat the closer they get to the practice rooms.

“Which one are we?” San asks, having sidled up besides the other two boys. Both take in a shaky, audible breath.

“137.” Yeosang says.

“Third on the left.” Wooyoung adds.

The rest of the walk is quiet- at least between the three boys up front. The silence only breaks when they reach the practice room.

“Um. We’re here.” Wooyoung says. He is sure he is going to be sick, both nerves and excitement swirling around his stomach. “You remember all their names?”

There’s a general murmur of assent, and Wooyoung shares a brief, nervous glance with Yeosang before pulling the door open.

“They’re here!” Someone shrieks, and Wooyoung jumps.

“Kai!” Someone reprimands.

“Wooyoung!”

Wooyoung doesn’t have time to think before he’s being engulfed in a hug. The person holding him is practically vibrating, the same nervous, bouncy energy that Wooyoung feels radiating from himself. The hug is alien and at the same time so, so familiar.

“Yeonjunnie!”

Yeonjun steps back, letting go of Wooyoung and-

Damn.

“When did you get so _tall_?” Wooyoung demands. He looks around. “No, wait, all of you are giants. What the hell?”

Yeonjun just laughs. “It’s good seeing you too, Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung shakes his head, deciding to let it go. (For now. Seriously, Huening Kai was thirteen when he left, and now he’s what? Taller than Wooyoung? Unnacceptable.)

“So, welcome to our practice room,”

Yeonjun says, sweeping one arm across the space dramatically. It’s smaller than Wooyoung thought it would be.

“If we wanna do introductions we can, but we know most of your names,” Yeonjun continues. “We still have about ten minutes before the choreographer comes.”

Wooyoung looks to Hongjoong instinctively. He doesn’t make the descions in this group.

“We should maybe just go around and say our names and stuff?” Honjoong suggests. “Just to be sure?”

Everyone seems to agree, and so they make their way into a misshapen lump of a circle. Wooyoung ends up on San’s lap, next to Yeonjun. Yeosang and Taehyun, across the circle, are pressed so tightly together it looks painful.

“Okay.” Hongjoong exhales. “I can start? I’m Hongjoong, I’m 20, and I’m the leader of Ateez.”

The introductions continue. It’s slightly awkward, considering Ateez is literally double the size of TxT, so they’re mostly just introducing themselves, but it’s fun.

“I’m Soobin, I’m 19, and I’m also the leader.” Soobin, who Wooyoung remembers as a shy, quiet kid flashes a smile across the circle at Hongjoong. Yeosang gasps a little too obviously.

“I thought-“ Mingi blurts. Yunho claps a hand over Mingi’s mouth, looking scandalized.

“You thought Yeonjun was the leader? That’s okay, I get that a lot. I’m not really a stereotypical leader figure.” Soobin says softly. “Honestly, we all thought it was gonna be Yeonjun too.”

“Soobin is the best leader though.” Huening Kai says loyally. “No offense,” he adds, shooting a glance at Hongjoong.

Hongjoong chuckles. “None taken. I get it, the whole leader thing.”

Soobin just smiles at his lap, reaching up to ruffle Kai’s hair.

Once they finish introductions, they still have nearly seven minutes before the choreographers come and the awkward silence is horrible. Wooyoung has never done well with awkward silence. Or silence of any kind.

“Should we dance?” Wooyoung blurts out. His voice echoes, and everyone turns to him. “I mean, just so we can like, see each other’s styles and it might be fun, I don’t know...” he trails off with the pressure of so many eyes on him.

“That’s a great idea!”

Wooyoung glances towards the person who’d spoken up and is met with the beaming face of his best friend. The nervousness that had been eating at him is suddenly replaced with an almost euphoric sense of happiness. Wooyoung grins back at Yeonjun, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt.

“We’ll go first,” Yeonjun offers.

“Cat and Dog!” Beomgyu shouts out, jumping to his feet quickly. “I vote Cat and Dog!”

“No! Crown!”

“Blue Orangeade, fools!”

“Let the others decide!”

That suggestion makes everyone shut up. All of TxT turn to look at Ateez.

“That’s a _good_ idea,” Soobin says firmly. “Can we have some more of those? What do you guys want to see?”

Hongjoong glances at Wooyoung. Wooyoung just shrugs. Again, he doesn’t make the decisions in this group.

“Can I-“

Wooyoung stares at Yeosang in shock. Yeosang is blushing like crazy, his voice is barely loud enough to be heard, and he’s boring holes into the floorboards, but he speaks steadily.

Wooyoung almost feels proud.

“Can we see Run Away? I really like that song.”

The TxT boys yell in agreement. Taehyun jumps up, offering a hand to Yeosang and sweeping into a dramatic bow.

Ateez sit against the mirror. It’s weird, watching Yeonjun slip from his normal personality into his serious stage persona. Wooyoung wonders if the difference between himself on and off stage is that intense.

The music starts, and Wooyoung is swept away. The other groups style is incredibly different from their own- while Ateez tends to sacrifice a bit of sychronization for energy, TxT has every movement measured out to a science. They’re precise, using much more popping technique than anything else, and they can all dance. They don’t seem to have any set positions, which Wooyoung admires because their formation changes are fluid and beautiful.

The music ends with Kai standing alone in the middle of the room, panting softly.

“That was awesome!” Yunho shouts, standing up quickly. “What’s that part in the middle- “

Beomgyu shrieks and grabs Yunho’s arm, pulling him to the side.

“That’s my favorite part! Here-“

Wooyoung feels a tap on his arm. He has to look up, annoyingly enough, to meet Yeonjun’s eyes. He’s sweating lightly, but Yeonjun’s grin is bright.

“Did you like it?”

Wooyoung nods so hard it hurts. “Of course! I’d seen performance videos, and the music video, but you guys are really good.”

Yeonjun shrugs. “Thanks. I’ve seen your videos too, though. You’re all crazy, especially...” Yeonjun looks around, scanning the room until he finds someone, his eyes lighting up. “Him! What’s his name again?”

Wooyoung looks in the direction Yeonjun is pointing, then laughs. “Oh, Sannie! San. Yeah, he tends to get that.”

Yeonjun laughs a little. “No kidding. Hala Hala? I thought he was going to break something.”

Wooyoung smiles, but he’s still watching San. The older is standing alone, slightly against the wall. Everyone else has mingled- Yeosang is surrounded by the TxT guys- but not San.

Wooyoung knows that they’ve had rough patches, where Yeosang and San and himself had all been too caught up in their jealousy to recognize their mutual friendship, and he wonders if maybe being at Bighit, where Wooyoung and Yeosang were friends, and being surrounded by people he didn’t know but they did, is a little too much.

“C’me here,” Wooyoung interrupts Yeonjun, pulling him by the sleeve. “This is San. San, this is Yeonjun. He’s _one of_ my best friends.”

Wooyoung stresses the _one_ part. San smiles, just a little.

“Hey, I was just telling Wooyoung, but you’re an incredible dancer.”

San lights up, and Wooyoung feels that they can be left alone for a while. He wanders into the crowd.

“Wooyoung!”

Someone catches at his sleeve, and he turns to find Huening Kai, who is both way older and taller than Wooyoung remembers him. Behind him towers the leader, Soobin.

“Okay, so, I don’t know if you remember, but once when I was still a child-“

“Hyuka, you’re sixteen, you’re still a child.”

“Shh, Soobin. Your opinion is irrelevant. Anyway, once you stayed back like, a couple of hours and helped me with a dance and that was super nice and I don’t think I ever thanked you so.” Kai takes a deep breath. “Thank you.”

Wooyoung blinks. Kai is vibrating with a near frantic energy that’s hard for Wooyoung to even process.

“Um, you’re welcome?”

Kai beams, reaching behind him to drag Soobin forward. “So, we all met at the beginning, but Soobin is really shy so I’m making sure he talks to people.” Kai looks at the leader, just for a moment, but Wooyoung can see the absolute adoration in his eyes. Kai looks at Soobin like he’s hung the moon, the stars, and then pulled the clouds out of the way so Kai could see them.

It’s probably how Wooyoung looks at San.

“I’m sorry about him,” Soobin says quietly, pulling on Kai’s sleeve. “He has no concept of shame.”

Wooyoung is about to reassure Soobin that its fine when Hongjoong’s voice echoes through the room.

“Ateez! Get over here!”

Wooyoung flashes an apologetic smile at Kai before scurrying over to where Hongjoong is slowly gathering the rest of his group.

“Are we doing Hala Hala?” Mingi asks as soon as everyone is there. “Please say we’re doing Hala Hala.”

“There’s no way we’re not doing Hala Hala,” Hongjoong says, smiling just a little too brightly. “First of all, it kicks ass. Second, Yeosang gets lines in Hala Hala.”

Everyone laughs, although Yeosang starts yelling about how he could re-sign with Bighit.

“We should do it though,” Seonghwa says with a glance at the clock. “Like, soon.”

Somehow, they manage to get organized enough to actually start their dance. TxT sit against the mirrors, like they did. The music is streamed from Hongjoong’s phone.

The first notes play, and Wooyoung is lost. He knows this dance, better than anything else.

Wooyoung loses himself in the music. He _throws_ himself into it, allowing the staccato beats to guide his feet, and the slower melody to shape his arms. He barely even has to think. Wooyoung is so consciously aware of himself and his body that he feels like he’s on fire.

He loves burning.

The last part- the very ending, where it’s San leading them in a screaming protest of _suicide squad on the real world_ is like an explosion. It ends like one too, with  
everyone down except Wooyoung, who decides to have a little fun. He levels his stare directly at Yeonjun, smirking at him before swiping a tongue over his lips. Yeonjun screams, diving into his leaders lap dramatically. Wooyoung just laughs at him, reaching forward to pull Yunho off the ground. San, as usual, remains on the ground while the others get up. Wooyoung helps him up last, rubbing a hand over his back to encourage him to breath evenly.

“You guys are crazy,” Beomgyu says decisively. “Absolutely insane. Can’t wait to dance together.”

Wooyoung laughs. “We might not get to if the choreographer doesn’t show up. Weren’t we supposed to start five minutes ago?”

Soobin shrugs. “It usually takes people a couple minutes to find their way around. And this dudes new, so he’s probably getting screened right now.”

“You guys screen your choreographers?” Hongjoong asks. The derision in his voice burns.

“You don’t?” Kai responds. He sounds genuinely confused, his brown eyes wide and innocent. Mingi huffs a laugh and bores holes into the ground. Wooyoung tightens his grip on San as

the latter tenses.

There had been a few... incidents when they were training. Wooyoung had still been at Bighit, but he had heard the stories. It made him shudder to think about anyone hurting his boys like that.

“We don’t,” Hongjoong says. The tone of his voice leaves no room for questions. “Who is choreographing? It’s not anyone we recognized.”

“It’s the guy that has done a bunch of NCT’s newer stuff, like Boom and Superhuman and stuff,” Yeonjun says.

“Jisung thinks he’s nice!” Kai offers. Wooyoung smiles down at the younger boy, who’s sprawled across Soobin’s lap. He just _looks_ young, his face soft and blissfully worry free. It’s hard

not to smile at him, especially when he looks so happy playing with the loose strings of Soobin’s t-shirt.

‘Someone’s coming,” Taehyun pipes up from his spot by the door. “Look nice.”

It’s like a switch has flipped. They all instantly scramble to their feet and into lines near their leaders facing the door. It’s silent. Down the line to his right, Wooyoung sees Mingi curl into himself. There’s an air of tension running down their line like an electric current.

It ends on Wooyoung’s right, where Yeonjun stands.

Mingi had gotten the worst of it when the choreographers had decided to get violent, according to San. Everyone else was decent at dancing, and though Mingi had spirit, he didn’t have the training the rest of them did. To this day, none of them leave Mingi alone in a room with a choreographer.

The door opens slowly. Wooyoung, on impulse, reaches out to tap Yeosang’s arm. It’s a code they made up when they were training together and had to be quiet during curfew.

Three taps.

_It’ll be alright._

The choreographer steps into the room and Wooyoung is taken aback by how kind he looks. His face is creased with laugh lines and he’s already grinning.

“Hello,” he greets cheerily. “I’m Anthony Testa, but you can call me Tony. I’m excited to work with you all!”

The group mumbles a greeting in response. Soobin steps forward first to lead TxT in their official greeting, and Hongjoong follows. When they’ve finished, Tony claps.

“Okay, I would like you to stand in a line in height order, just for formation purposes.”

Wooyoung stifles a sigh. He and Hongjoong trudge towards the end of the line together, throwing glares at Mingi and Yunho and Soobin. It’s unfair.

The choreographer notes something in a notebook, then looks up. “You guys have positions, right? Who’s what?”

Wooyoung glances at Hongjoong. The leader steps forward.

“Mingi and I are rappers, but we dance pretty well. Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Yunho are our main dancers-“

Wooyoung raises a hand as the leader speaks, drawing Tony’s eyes towards him.

“-and San and Jongho are our singers. Sanie’s a beast on the floor, though.”

The choreographer nods, jotting frantically in his notebook. He looks up to nod at Soobin. “And you all?”

Soobin looks taken aback.

“We, um. W-we don’t quite-“

“We don’t have set positions, although Taehyun can do the best high notes” Yeonjun interjects. Wooyoung sees Soobin shoot the elder a grateful look.

“That makes things easy for me,” Tony says. “Alright, so you’ve all heard the songs?”

Wooyoung nods along with everyone else. The mix has both their songs- Crown and Illusion- as well as a couple of their senoirs songs. It’s pretty, and light, and fun, and Wooyoung likes it. He prefers darker concepts, where he can be mysterious and deadly, as opposed to these, where he has to act nice and lovely and cute. It’s exhausting.

“Can I see the two songs you did, then, and we’ll go on from there?”

The rest of the afternoon is filled with dancing. They all pick up the choreography quickly, it’s just a matter of doing it well. The instructor praises Mingi for his energy early on, and the tension in the room visibly dissapates. By the end of the day the choreography is finished, and the group is drenched in sweat. San’s not moved from his face down position on the floor in a while.

“Your vocalist died, Wooyoungie,” Yeonjun notes as he slides up to Wooyoung. “Are you guys staying for dinner?”

Wooyoung nods, casually wrapping an arm around Yeonjun.

“Hongjoong hyung said so, but I don’t know what the plan is.”

Yeonjun hums affirmatively. The room is busy, but not loud. (Surprising, considering Mingi and Yunho are within five feet of each other.)

“I missed you,” Yeonjun breaths. “I mean, like, you really were my best friend. I thought about following you like you did for Yeosang, but...”

“But what?” Wooyoung asks, twisting to look at Yeonjun. There’s a dusting of red over the elders face.

“But I met Soobinnie, and the others.” Yeonjun tries to play it of but Wooyoung read him like an open book.

“You-“ he squeals before Yeonjun aggressively slaps a hand over his mouth. Wooyoung glares at him until he lets go.

“You like them?” Wooyoung asks quietly. “All of them?”

Yeonjun bites his lip, boring holes in the ground before nodding.

“It’s- I know it’s not normal, but they all just-“

Wooyoung hushes his friend quickly. “No, I get it! Yunho, Mingi and Yeosang are like that too.”

Yeonjun stops talking instantly. “The three of them?”

“Yep. You could probably ask them questions or something. Just say I told you, so they don’t freak out that they were being obvious.”

Yeonjun nods, a hesistant hope overtaking his features.

Wooyoung jumps as something plasters itself to his back, turning just enough to see a shock of rough black hair.

“Hi,” he says. “Do you need something?”

San just buries his face against Wooyoung’s neck, squirming so that his sweaty forehead is pressed against Wooyoung’s sweater.

Wooyoung tries not to blush as Yeonjun eyes him knowingly, mouthing ‘nice one’ at him.

“Sannie, love, while I adore you, I don’t like being used as a towel.”

Sannie hums low in his throat, tracing a finger up Wooyoung’s arm slowly.

“Do you know where the inhaler is?” San whispers in Wooyoung’s ear, his breath cold and slightly minty.

Wooyoung looks San in the eye as best he can.

“It’s in my bag, right? Lower pocket. Are you having trouble breathing?”

San shakes his head, sucking in a shaky breath to demonstrate.

“Just uncomfortable and tight. Wanna make sure nothing happens.”

“Okay. Tell Hongjoongie when you go over there.” Wooyoung sends San off with a pat on his butt, watching to make sure he doesn’t pass out on the way there. Yeonjun has wandered off, and so Wooyoung makes his way over to the larger group. He catches a glimpse of Hongjoong leading San away, into the hallway, but he’s immediately distracted by the person in front of him.

Kang Taehyun was never really Wooyoung’s best friend, but he and Yeosang were good friends (and briefly more than good friends), so Wooyoung knows him pretty well.

“Yeosang likes someone,” Taehyun starts right away, before Wooyoung can even say hello. “He won’t tell me who it is.”

Wooyoung blinks, a little off-put by Taehyun’s intense gaze.

“And you want me to tell you?”

Taehyun shrugs. “Well, I just want to know. If you don’t want to tell me thats fine. I’ll just have to find out through other, less personal means.” Taehyun looks at Wooyoung innocently. “I just want him to be happy.”

“Sure,” Wooyoung nods. “Or you’re a curious bastard.”

“That too,” Taehyun agrees easily.

“Do you really want to know?” Wooyoung asks more quietly. “I mean, I know what went on in between you guys...”

Taehyun winces slightly, but squares his shoulders. “Yes. We’re just friends now- he’s still one of my best friends ever.”

Wooyoung sighs, looking over Taehyun once more.

“I can’t tell you. Yeosang made me promise I wouldn’t tell you. But,”

He adds hastily as Taehyun opens his mouth in protest, “but, Yeonjun may know some things. Maybe.”

Taehyun lights up, patting Wooyoung on the shoulder amiably.

“Foods here!” Some one calls, and the entire group coalesces into a ball by the door.

Somehow, the food gets sorted- Ateez has chicken, and TxT has salads. They all settle in a circle again, San on Wooyoung’s left, falling asleep in his food, and Yeonjun on his right.

Yeosang is across the circle, watching with faint amusement as Kai and Taehyun lazily wrestle, rolling around like puppies. This is the moment that makes _it_ \- quitting school, leaving his family, training for hours and hours, the sleep lost, the friends lost, all the tears- this moment, Wooyoung decides, is why he became an idol.

He wouldn’t want his life any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone! Quarantine has brought me back! I hope you've enjoyed this work as much as I liked writing it. I adore both Ateez and TxT, so writing this was super fun!  
> I got a twitter! Follow me @venus_demiloao3! We can chat!  
> Thank you all for the amazing responses to my other works, you guys are incredible.  
> I am still taking suggestions/requests, it might just take a while for me to write it, if I do.  
> Please stay healthy and safe! 
> 
> -Milo


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